Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-07-31
ARMY STORIES IN ENGLAND.
Chat with q London Government
COntrnctOr-Made Over Goods.

Chat with a London Government
COntractOr-Made over Goods.
/ spent an evening with Mr.. Will
liam Pope, one of the largest dealers
in army stores in England, and in the
course of the interview he told me
several curious facts in connection
with the business.
"Why, bless me-" said the wealthy
dealer, "there have been times when
could have clothed and equipped a
good sized army on days notice. /
once had an old chapel full OF rifles,
warehouse full of swords, hundred
thousand helmets, and as many
coats, trousers and boots. But
the rife business, like the discarded
rife, is broken up now.'
"Why is that ?''
cit was after the Phoenix park mur-
ders. The great market for the rifles
had for many years been Ireland. The
government became alarmed, and the
order was issued to break up all the
rifles, and as the order has never been
rescinded suppose they will go on
breaking them up until doomsday.
At any rate there are no more rifles to
be had"
"But were not these rifles very old
fashioned?"
"Of course they were, but that was
all the better for the South African
trade. The natives liked the old flint
guns with the stocks painted red.
Why, there is an establishment at
Brandon, in Norfolk making flint locks
to this day. 1t even pays to take
out the more modern locks and sub
stitute flint locks. These flint guns
and old swords are sent out in barrels
and exchanged for palm oil, which
comes back in the same barrels. Be-
fore the Phoenix Park murders, |
employed 100 men, cleaning up and
repairing government rifles, muskets
and firearms of all sorts. / have re-
ceived as many as 10000 in month.
Now the British Government employs
men at G3 week to break them all
up"
"What else do you buy of the Brit
ish and continental government be-
sides implements of warfare'
"Why, bless me, my young friend,
l buy everything; tents, blankets,
picks, shovels, boots, gloves, CATERS,
helmets, saddles, harness and accou-
terments of all kinds"
"Do you s, examine them before pur-
"Don't examine one. It's what
you Yankees call trading out of sight
and unseen. You pay down your
money and you find out what you've
got when you begin to assort, accord
ing to the value. / employ 500 peo-
pie at times in the various depart
ments of my business, and if you |
would only reduce your tariff l could
employ thousand.
'sWhat do you do with the old
boots?"
"Well, Pm not 80 much in the old
boot line. There isn't much in that
unless you make business of it.
have friend who has alfactory en-
ploying 500 or 900 men, and he liter
ally makes old boots into new. He
buys all the army, all the police, and,
in fact, all the old boots he can lay his
hands on. They are taken to pieces
and the leather cleaned AM redressed,
and new boot or shoe CONSTRUCTED
out OF tnc gOOu pieces Oi teatneI, anu
all sorts of smaller articlb made out
of the best part OF tie worn out
pieces. He makes veryt durable hob
nailed boot, which is kIpwn in the
trade and bought by cSsters, farm
laborers and railway porteys. This is
called translating."
"What becomes of thdf iforms?"
"Most of them go abrot I've The oil
skin capes and cork Ind SSfhh1ots 60 to
India, the brass helmets to the Cape,
and the tunic and policemen's uni
forms to South Africa. You see, as
trousers are dispensed with. red jack
cts are rather drug, though the ma
tives do buy them and lengthen them a
bit with white cotton cloth. The cast-of
court suits worn by officers are rare
things to get hold Of. They are reno
waited and sold, with few peacock's
feathers thrown in, to the chiefs.
They are always IN demand, and bring
GOOD prices. The pride these natives
take in their uniforms is astonishing"
-[Robert E. Porter in Inter-Ocean.